Kara and her best friend, Vicki were sitting at the lunch table. They were juniors in high school and they had just had a very, long day.
"So when are you going to introduce me to that new boyfriend of yours?" Vicki asked Cara.
"What do you mean? You've seen him around school, haven't you?"
"Have I seen him around school? God, that boy is everywhere!"
Kara blushed.
"How can you not see him around school?" Vicki continued. "He's a senior, captain of the football team, captain of the baseball team, one of the hottest guys in school, can sing damn well, is mister popular, and not to mention that he is on every girl's list!"
Kara smiled broadly. "That's my Nick."
"What I mean by introduce us, is because I don't know him. I only know everything about him. How did you land that sweet deal anyway?"
"I kinda literally ran into him one day. He said hi, I said hi. I never noticed how much I actually passed him in a day until then, and he knew it too. We ran into each other, literally, again another day and we just started saying hi to each other from then on, and the rest is history, my dear friend."
"Do you think that you could hook me up with one of his friends?"
"I knew it! I knew that you liked Brian! I could see it in your eyes!"
Vicki lowered her eyes and smiled. "Could you possibly say it any louder?"
"He is not the macho guy that you would think that he would be."
"Yeah, right."
"No, I'm serious. He's a total softy, even in front of his friends."
"Sure."
"Look!" Kara said. "Here he comes!"
Vicki and Kara looked down the hallway and there was Nick, strutting down the hallway with three or four guys following, in a pack, behind him. One of whom, was Brian. Nick walked over to Kara and Vicki's table, and they all sat down. Nick sat next to Kara and put his head on her shoulder, and pouted.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Kara asked him, stroking his head.
"Brian said that I shouldn't tryout for the soccer team because I'm not good enough!" Nick whined and Vicki stiffled a laugh.
Kara looked at Brian. "Brian! How could you?"
"I was only telling him the truth!" Brian said.
"Whatever."
Nick sat up and looked Kara in the eyes. "I'm okay!" he said and gently leaned in and kissed her. "Thank you for caring."
"You know that I do," Kara replied. All of a sudden, they heard a shot on the other side of the cafeteria.
"What was that?" Vicki asked but she got her answer when two students stood up and held their guns in the air.
"I wish you hadn't asked," Brian said.
"We have to get out of here," Nick whispered to Kara. Kara only nodded her head. There was a door leading outside, but they weren't close enough to reach it before the gunmen would catch them. The seven of them sat there and watched as the two aimed their gun at a table and shot, hitting someone.
"Oh my God!" Kara gasped. Nick looked over and saw as one of the gunmen aimed their gun at one of his best friends.
"No," he said under his breath. "Please, don't." But no one obviously heard his prayer and the gunman pulled the trigger, hitting Nick's best friend in the neck. Nick jumped up from his seat and screamed. "No!" Kara jumped up, threw her hand over his mouth and sat him down.
"Nick, Honey, you have to be quiet," Kara told him calmly.
Nick leaned over and began to cry on her shoulder. "He was my best friend."
"He's going to be all right," Kara told him. "He's going to be fine. Shh." She put her hand over his head and kissed his forehead and began to rock him back and forth. The gunmen began to walk over towards the table where the seven were sitting.
"I'll kill him with my bare hands," Nick muttered under his breath.
But Kara had heard him and wrapped her arms around him so tightly, that he couldn't move. "Don't you dare move," she told him. "I'm warning you, Nick, I'm not risking you."
Time had passed and the police had swarmed the building. Someone who obviously didn't know what was going on, was walking down the hallway and saw all of the scared faces of everyone in the cafeteria and the blood on the floor, and stopped.
"Hey, whatcha doing?" one of the gunmen called down the hallway.
"Uh...um..."
"That's what I thought." He held up his gun and started to chase the kid down the hallway.
"Now's our chance," Nick said. "Who's with me? We can make it to the door."
Vicki, Brian and the three other guys shook their heads, but Kara didn't.
"I'll go with you," Kara said to Nick.
"No girl, don't-" Vicki pleaded.
But Nick stood up and grabbed Kara's hand. They started for the door way, but were stopped by the second gunman.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"We were just heading for the door," Nick said, calmly.
"I don't think so." And without warning, the guy shot Nick.
"Oh my God!" Kara screamed as Nick fell to the ground. She dropped down beside him and lifted him into her lap. She put one hand over the bleeding wound in his chest and the other on his forehead.
"Kara-" Vicki said and stood up, but the gunman looked at her and told her to sit back down.
"Baby...baby? Nick? Talk to me," Kara pleaded as tears started to roll down her face. "Nick-"
"K-Kara," Nick gasped. "You have to get out of here."
"No! I'm not going to leave you. Oh, there's so much blood, Nick, I can't stop it!" she said and pressed her palm down harder.
"Please, just go. You have to. I can't have anything happen to you."
Kara turned around and screamed. "You have to let me take him out of here!" The gunman turned around. "He needs serious medical attention. Please, just let me take him out."
"Let me think about that one," the gunman replied. "Um...no."
Kara looked back down at Nick who was paling and his shirt was now fully soaked in blood. "Baby, please hold on."
"I-I can't."
"You have to do this for me!"
"You know that I would do anything for you, but I can't do this. I'm sorry."
"Do not be sorry! Just stay."
"Kara, I love you. I know that I've never told you it before. Maybe because I was too macho for my own good. But I love you with everything in me."
"Nick I love you, too. You sure picked a dramatic time to tell me. That is so you."
Nick briefly smiled, but it hurt to smile. He reached his hand up and stroked her face. "Promise me that you'll get out of here."
"I promise you. And you will too."
"No, I won't. Good bye, my sweet Kara. I l-love y-you," Nick whispered. His hand dropped to his side, his eyes closed, and his body sighed.
"Nick? Nick! Nick please-" but Kara stopped. She knew. She let him go and bent down and kissed him. "I love you, too." She stood up and looked over at Vicki. "I'm sorry, but I have a promise to keep," Kara said to Vicki and she bolted for the door. Kara ran outside and into the arms of a police officer.
"Oh my God, you're bleeding! Where did you get hit?" the police officer asked.
"No...no...I'm not hit. It-it was my boyfriend's blood. He was hit."
"Where is he? Was he behind you?"
"No...no, he died."
"Oh God, I'm sorry. Here, let's wrap you up in a blanket."
The next several hours passed, and it was over. The gunmen killed themselves, but not before taking Kara's boyfriend, and several others.
Kara looked up into the sky and whispered, "Nick, I kept my promise. It's over."